New york city: The 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) will commence tomorrow, Tuesday, in New York City, USA. This year's session is being held amidst a turbulent international landscape and escalating challenges.
According to Qatar News Agency, the new session, chaired by His Excellency Khalilur Rahman, will be held under the theme "Restoring Trust, Managing Transformation: A United Nations That Delivers for All". This comes at a time when the gap between the scale of global crises and the international system's capacity to contain them is widening, and multilateral action is facing a difficult test in light of wars, geopolitical divisions, and intertwined humanitarian, climate, and economic crises.
The United Nations enters its new session with a packed agenda addressing the most pressing issues facing the international community, from wars and conflicts and matters of international peace and security, to sustainable development, climate action, global health, human rights, technology governance, artificial intelligence, and the reform of the international organization. However, these files converge on a deeper question concerning the United Nations itself, and the extent to which the international system it represents can keep pace with a world in which the balance of power has changed and centers of influence have multiplied, while crises have become more complex and intertwined.
Among the political and humanitarian issues on the agenda, the Palestinian issue and the ongoing Israeli occupation's aggression against the Gaza Strip since Oct. 7, 2023, along with its humanitarian and political repercussions, are likely to occupy a significant portion of the session's deliberations. This is due to the continuation of the crisis and its transformation into a test of the credibility of the international system, international humanitarian law, and the UN's ability to protect civilians.
Discussions are expected to focus on the future of the Gaza Strip, reconstruction efforts, the flow of humanitarian aid, and the role of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), as well as the future of the Palestinian question and efforts to revive the two-state solution.
The war in Ukraine will also feature prominently in the discussions, having become, since its outbreak in late February 2022, one of the most significant points of contention between Russia and the West, and having far-reaching consequences for European security, energy and food markets, and global military spending.
In addition to the situations in the Gaza Strip and Ukraine, peace and security issues in many parts of the world will top the agenda of member states, given the continuation of conflicts and the worsening humanitarian crises, and the increasing challenges they pose to the ability of the international community to prevent, resolve, and respond to the consequences of conflicts.
Amid these challenges, the participation of the State of Qatar in UNGA's 81st session is of particular importance, in light of the growing role it plays in supporting efforts to establish peace and resolve conflicts through dialogue, mediation and diplomacy, making the New York meetings an opportunity to confirm its approach based on prioritizing political solutions, reducing escalation and strengthening collective action in the face of crises that threaten regional and international security and stability.
The session also provides a platform for the State of Qatar to present its vision on priority issues, foremost among them the Palestinian issue and the situation in the Gaza Strip, enhancing security and stability in the region and preventing the escalation of conflicts, as well as promoting mediation, preventive diplomacy, and conflict resolution, and supporting humanitarian work and sustainable development. These priorities reflect Qatar's approach to supporting multilateral action and strengthening the role of the United Nations in preventing crises, opening channels for dialogue, and reaching peaceful and sustainable solutions and settlements.
Wars and conflicts will not dominate the session's agenda, as the General Assembly prepares for a series of high-level meetings and events addressing development, climate, health, human rights, and disarmament. This is an attempt to revitalize international efforts that have been repeatedly disrupted in recent years by the COVID-19 pandemic, wars, and crises related to debt, food, energy, and inflation.
In this context, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are gaining particular importance during the 81st session, as the deadline for implementing the 2030 agenda approaches. The United Nations is striving to mobilize renewed political will to accelerate progress toward these goals and address the widening gaps in development pathways.
The session's agenda includes a "Sustainable Development Goals Moment" on Sept. 18, followed by the high-level general debate on Sept. 22. This debate will be the highlight of the session and an opportunity for countries to present their positions on key international issues and crises.
Climate change will also be a central theme of the high-level meetings, with a climate action meeting and a "just transition" session on Sept. 23. The following day, another high-level meeting will address the existential threats posed by rising sea levels, given the escalating impacts of climate change, particularly on island states and the most vulnerable communities.
On Sept. 23, UNGA will also host a high-level meeting to mark the 40th anniversary of the Declaration on the Right to Development. This meeting will provide a platform for discussing development disparities, financing, debt, the North-South divide, and the need for a more balanced and equitable international economic order.
Global health security is also on the agenda for the session, with the General Assembly holding a high-level meeting on pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response on Sept. 25. This meeting will bring to the forefront issues of health system readiness, early warning systems, equitable access to vaccines and medicines, and financing for health emergency preparedness and response.
The high-level meetings continue on Sept. 28 with a meeting to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the adoption of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action, which serves as an international framework for combating racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia, and related intolerance.
On Sept. 29, the General Assembly will hold a high-level plenary meeting to commemorate and promote the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons, at a time of growing international concern regarding nuclear armament and the future of the disarmament regime.
Alongside these traditional issues, technology governance and artificial intelligence stand out as rising priorities on the UN agenda. The President of the General Assembly has placed the governance of emerging technologies, particularly AI, among the session's priorities, alongside peace and security, sustainable development, climate change, human rights, and UN reform.
The session's work extends beyond the high-level week, continuing throughout the year, from September 2026 to September 2027, through UNGA's six main committees. These committees address disarmament and international security, economic and financial issues, social, humanitarian, and cultural affairs, special political and decolonization matters, administrative and budgetary issues, and legal matters.
Alongside the international agenda burdened with crises, reforming the UN itself will be one of the most sensitive issues during the new session. There are growing calls to develop its institutions and mechanisms to reflect the transformations in the international system and enhance its capacity to respond to crises.
These discussions coincide with financial challenges facing the organization, given the liquidity pressures resulting from delays or shortfalls in the payment of assessed contributions by some member states, which adds another dimension to the debate about the future of the United Nations and its ability to perform its tasks.
In remarks to Qatar News Agency, international relations expert and consultant, Dr. Ahmed Ghaith Al Kuwari said that the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) is being held in an international and regional context unlike that of previous sessions.
He added that representatives from West Asia will not enter the meeting halls in New York burdened with traditional political crises that can be dealt with individually. Rather, they will enter with the experience that has proven that war in this region can quickly escalate from the military arena to the sea, energy, trade, public finance, supply chains, and global markets.
In this context, he emphasized the importance of Qatar's participation in the UN General Assembly meetings, stating that this participation should not be viewed merely as routine diplomatic engagement in the largest international gathering. Instead, it comes at a moment when fundamental questions are being raised concerning the future of security in the Gulf and the Middle East, and the extent to which the current international system can protect the sovereignty of states, freedom of navigation and international trade, and prevent regional conflicts from escalating into global economic crises.
Dr. Al Kuwari stated that the problem is not the absence of law, as the world does not always suffer from a lack of legal rules. The question is not always, "Where is the law?" but rather, "Who guarantees its implementation when its provisions conflict with the interests of powerful nations?"
He emphasized that UNGA's 81st session is facing a crucial test - the UN is not required to issue more statements calling on parties to exercise restraint, as this language has become commonplace. The real question is whether the international community can shift from managing crises after they occur to preventing their formation before they happen, and whether a regional war can be prevented from disrupting a vital artery through which the interests of dozens of countries pass, threatening global energy supplies, disrupting public budgets, raising transportation, insurance, and food costs, and then shifting the burden of the conflict onto peoples and nations that were not originally involved.
Dr. Al Kuwari stressed that the importance of the current session of the General Assembly lies not only in its being an occasion to discuss the consequences of the crisis, but also in its being an opportunity to address the flaws that allowed the crisis to escalate so rapidly from a military conflict into a threat to the international economic order.
Regarding the issues, topics, and files that are of interest to the State of Qatar during the events and discussions of the 81st session of the General